Author: Randy Corman

The City of Renton is considering dumping the images in the City’s logo that set our community apart from others.  At last Monday’s Committee of the Whole Meeting, the Council was presented with a staff proposal to “refresh” and “simplify” the City’s logo.  The proposed new logo would drop the airliner, football, and salmon from the logo.  The new logo would appear as in the picture below.

Dropping community-focussed images is a departure from our neighboring cities’ approach, as well as a change to Renton’s approach of the last 60 years.  Below are some logos from nearby cities, including images like a sailboat conjuring Des Moines’ impressive waterfront, a waterfall representing Snoqualmie,  a tree-covered island for Mercer Island, a maple leaf for Maple Valley, and trees and mountains and water images for other cities.

As a career airplane designer, I feel a special connection to the commercial airliner in Renton’s logo, as it recognizes our city’s importance as the world’s birthplace of commercial jet aviation.  The salmon in the logo acknowledges Renton’s natural environment. and the significance of our Cedar River as home to the largest natural-origin Chinook Salmon run in the Lake Washington Watershed, as well as a key spawning ground for Coho and Sockeye salmon.   The football (which I half expected to soon see paired with a soccer ball) reflects our identity as a headquarters for professional sports, and Renton’s overall support of recreation and entertainment.

The Committee of the Whole briefing is not the final word on this topic.  Before the decision becomes final, the Council has to formally pass legislation implementing the simplified logo.

[Update 2/3] Fortunately, several council members expressed concerns about the proposal, and have so far prevented this staff proposal from advancing.  Ed Prince was very vocally against the logo change, along with Ruth Pérez & James Alberson and Valerie O’Halloran. Two members were absent from the discussion.  The topic has so far not been reported out of committee.

The full details of the proposal can be found here, as well as the staff’s proposed phase-in plan.  Anyone with an opinion on this issue can write to the Council at council@rentonwa.gov, or write to the Mayor at mayor@rentonwa.gov.

Every time I’ve driven past the derelict Garden Plaza buildings I’ve easily spotted one or more holes in the security fence.  Everytime these failings are brought to the City’s attention, City leaders insist that permanent repairs by the building’s owner are imminently forthcoming, or an all-new fence is about to be installed that will be far more more impassible and secure than the previous one. But the result is always the same.

The latest barbed-wire-topped fence was the subject of a September Renton Reporter article, in which the Mayor addressed on-going neighborhood concerns about this building. The mayor assured the public the city had issued a firm deadline for construction of this new fence which was supposed to be “unscalable” (the article said “upscalable,” which I assume was a typo.)

I easily spotted the current fence openings from the road.  A large gap at the bottom of the fence near a staircase provides enough room for even an adult to easily slide under; the bare spot in the fallen leaves shows the gap is in use.  For those trespassers that don’t want to slide under, the concrete retaining wall enables intruders to take a large step over the barbed wire above the gap; the sagging barbed wire shows this is happening.

The public has been promised that this property would be secured. The unsecured property full of broken glass,  open drops, and biohazards continues to be a deadly risk to curious children and people seeking shelter.  It’s also a severe fire hazard for the neighborhood, and thrown objects from these buildings have put motorists at risk.

The owners of this property have had years to comply with city requirements. They are making a mockery of Renton’s code enforcement.  Strong code enforcement could have saved these buildings when they first went into disrepair; now we need strong code enforcement to protect human safety.

The code requires all the doors and windows be secured on vacant buildings, with either their original materials or architectural panels that match the building design.  It also requires that fire protection systems be maintained.  The code includes no exceptions or special privileges just because the building might be torn down in the future.  At some point every building will eventually be torn down– but it still has to meet code in the meantime.  If the owners won’t do the work to meet codes, the city  should do the work and bill the owners for it, putting a lien on the property if necessary–which is allowed under the law.

If you want to help you can email the Council and Mayor, and insist that code enforcement be taken seriously on these dangerous and blighted buildings:  Send emails to: council@rentonwa.gov and mayor@rentonwa.gov.

For further background on this property and the relevant codes, click here.

The Renton Airport Advisory Committee discussed intensifying noise concerns at their third-quarter September 9 meeting, and the link to the zoom recording of the meeting was just made available.  The video can be watched here.

The noise discussion starts at 43 minutes, first with some questions by Jeff Dineen (representing South Renton and RAAC vice-chair) regarding how pilots get trained on noise abatement procedures, followed by an intense discussion of overnight jet traffic over Mercer Island.  Tom Imrich (representing Mercer Island and a highly-experienced commercial jet pilot) makes the case that too many of the takeoffs are occuring at just a few-hundred feet above Mercer Island’s tree-tops at all hours of the night, and that a higher take-off profile or an east-channel (over-water) departure route should be invoked to spare Mercer Island’s neighborhoods from the noise and safety risks of the low-flying jet traffic.

The RAAC discussion covers some of the concerns that precipitated a firm letter from Mercer Island’s Mayor to the Renton Airport Director in September.

The video and draft meeting minutes were made available in conjunction with the announcement for the fourth quarter RAAC meeting, to be held on November 18th at 5:00 PM.  I’ve attached the agenda below.  (Meetings of the RAAC are open to the public, although public comment is typically not taken at the meetings.)

In several previous blog entries I’ve expressed concern that a new focus by Renton Airport leadership on inviting jet centers into Renton Airport, diplacing historic small-parts manufacturers and piston-aircraft users, would lead to increasing conflicts of this type.  All my earlier blog posts related to Renton Airport and the RAAC can be found here, or by clicking “Airport” in the Category sidebar.

As last-minute voters fill out their ballots for Renton’s caring and talented Mary Clymer (don’t forget!), I thought I would share this photo from when I served with her grandfather Earl Clymer in the mid 1990’s. Earl served 18 years on Council followed by 8 years as Mayor and left a family legacy of service to Renton.

Per the Seattle Times: “As a council member and as mayor, Mr. Clymer was known for his efforts to protect Renton’s aquifer, expand its parks system and senior-citizen services, and attract and retain businesses.”

I’m looking forward to seeing Earl’s granddaughter Mary, who already serves our community in many other ways, carry on Earl’s legacy at Renton City Hall.

To get the positive, safe future that everyone in Renton deserves, we need a healthy change in Renton Council Position 2.  Mary Clymer is ready to be that change.  Please vote for Mary by Tuesday, November 4th.  She has run a great campaign, and we need to get her across the finish line with a strong voter turnout.  Many people have not voted yet.  Please return your ballots by Tuesday (either postmarked by Tuesday afternoon or dropped in an official ballot collection box before 8:00 PM), and tell your friends to vote for Mary.

Please read more in my July endorsement announcement here.

In a sneak peek of their artistically-designed restaurant in April 2009, I said the Rock Wood Fired Pizza felt like Hard Rock Cafe meets Pirates of the Caribbean.  I published this blog entry at the time about my excitement for the new Renton restaurant.

I’m saddened to hear this classic-rock-themed restaurant will be closing soon.  It’s been the site of countless gatherings with my family and Boeing colleagues through their long and melodious run at the Landing.

Thank you to the owners and staff of the Rock for all the great food, drinks (buckets of them),  and fun you’ve provided to our community over your 16+ years here in Renton.  We will miss you.

Here is a screenshot of their Facebook post with the news:

SB left an update this morning on my post “Not ‘willing sellers’; forty homes and businesses are being taken by use or threat of eminent domain.”  Please click here to read that post for details on this issue.

Here is SB’s Comment:    “And as of yesterday, the minority run businesses on the corner of Airport & Logan have been demolished. More lost local businesses. And the general public drives by, unaware their tax dollars, sucked up by the Renton School District, are being used to ruin the lives of their fellow citizens – instead of to improve the education of students.”

This month’s “Our Renton” newsletter (delivered in our utility bills) includes a message that I would not have approved if I were on Council: “Please note that any text messaging from Linebarger code 98023 is not a scam.”

Text message origination numbers can be spoofed, and all Renton residents should remain extremely cautious about sending money, filling in passwords, or sending personal information to any link that is text-messaged to them.  It’s erroneous and dangerous to assure residents that a text coming from any specific number is not a scam.  (My son once received a message that came from the official BECU phone number, but was in fact a spoofed account.)

To make matters worse, the subject text messages will not come from the City of Renton,  which has local offices and phone numbers for verifying legitimacy, but instead a Texas-based law firm/ collection agency  that collects delinquent fines and court fees for profit.  This puts the City in the position of trying to convince residents that city payments can be made to an out-of-state entity with a hard-to-remember name, as long as the text message appears to come from a (spoofable) code.

This is a dangerous message. We should all be reminding our vulnerable residents NOT to sign into any website links sent to them via text message or email, unless they are absolutely certain that they know who sent them. And even then it is better to personally navigate to official sites, rather than following links, since a friend’s email can be hacked or spoofed.

The City’s mailer says people can go the rentonwa.gov/court for more information, but very few will.  For those that do, if they navigate through some links they’ll be able to see what a text message from Linebarger Attorneys will look like:

The City apparently put this unfortunate message on their website and in their newsletter because Linebarger Attorneys asked them to.  But I think the City should have said “no” to posting Linebarger’s recommended message, and “no” to any text messages that ask Renton residents to follow a text link to remit funds.

In contrast to the City’s message, The National Council on Aging warns readers about the proliferation of text scams and says: “The “don’t click/don’t respond” rule applies even if you recognize the name of the sender (your bank, for example) and think the text message may be real.”

For anyone struggling to pay a fine or court fees, often Renton’s most financially-challenged residents, accidentally paying the fees to a scam artist could be devastating.  But many additional people are impacted by this message, far beyond the people that owe fines.  By advising people that verifying a text came from a certain number makes it safe, the city is putting all our residents in danger of losing enormous amounts of money, potentially their life savings.

And if anyone loses money to someone spoofing Linebarger’s text number, the fact that the city published “please note that any text messaging from Linebarger code 98023 is not a scam”  leaves Renton taxpayers, all of us, vulnerable to covering the losses.

If you suspect you might owe court fines or fees to the City of Renton, you can find a link on the City of Renton website where you can pay them.  (For security do your own search, but at the time of this writing this is the link). You should also typically be contacted by US Postal Service Mail with instructions, and you should phone the City if you are uncertain why you are being asked for money (phone numbers are given on the City website).  Even if a past-due debt has been sent to collections, the City of Renton should still be able to help you verify whether you truly owe it, and help verify that any payments you make are sent to the right place.

Like many other Renton homeowners, I’ve seen my property taxes surge 50% in just four years.  My 1959 one-story home has a tax-assessed value of $1,003,000, just one percent higher than the King County average assessment of $997,538. But the annual taxes are $3,334 higher than they were four years ago. and they’re likely to go much higher.

In 2001 Washington voters, concerned about being taxed out of their homes, approved initiative 747 to put a “1% cap” on the amount a taxing district could increase taxes. But this cap doesn’t apply when voters approve the increase, and (when applicable) the cap only applies to total taxes collected by a jurisdiction, not to individual properties. So some property owners can see big tax increases when other see reductions, even when the jurisdiction holds to a 1% increase overall.  And taxes still go up even when region-wide property values drop. Hence, my 50 percent higher tax bill over four years could become a new pattern, regardless of whether property values go up or down in the future.

What would it look like if this rate of increase was the “new normal”?  If we see 50% increases every four years, the way we have in the past four, this is our 20 year outlook:

At the current rate of growth, in twenty years my home’s property taxes would be almost $80,000 per year, heavily impacting my retirement planning.  People still working would also struggle– few homeowners could pay a mortgage and support a family with an $80,000 property tax payment.  And renters will have the $7000 monthly tax bill added to their rent.

While this looks ridiculous, it could happen if local officials do not relearn the discipline of belt-tightening.  The first step will be to admit they have a problem.

The City of Renton portion of my taxes has gone up 39% in the past four years, from $653 to $905.  In a Q13 Fox report today, Mayor Pavone erroneously told David Rose: “Property taxes have gone up, but it has nothing to do with the City of Renton.”   The Mayor was mistaken. Even with the voter-approved “1% cap” on total annual increases in city property tax collections, residential taxes can go up sharply when taxes drop on business properties like the ruined Park Avenue buildings and the former Red Lion Hotel.  A friend of mine who heard the Mayor’s statement quipped, does that mean we don’t have to pay Renton’s increased  taxes?

Taxes across all taxing-districts are rising fast, with no end in sight.  After a new King County Parks bond was approved in last month’s primary,  Renton School District and Valley Medical Center are both asking Renton voters for more money in this November’s general election.  The City of Renton is working on its own Park Bond ballot issue for next year, and Sound Transit feels they are about $30 billion dollars short, and talking about going to the polls for more.  The other taxing districts will not be far behind. Our property tax increases are far out-pacing most people’s wage growth, and if our taxes keep rising at the current pace fewer and fewer people will qualify for home purchases or leases. Many more of our current residents will become unhoused.

It doesn’t have to be this way.  We were able to actually lower city taxes in the past by diligently managing every penny of our tax revenues, and ensuring we maintained a thriving business climate.  Our elected officials must focus on solving problems using the record amounts of money taxpayers are already giving them, not by constantly asking for more.

[Note: updated on September 20 with new second paragraph summarizing state tax structure and “1% cap,” in response to a question by “GoRedhawks!” in the comments ]

At last night’s council meeting, five speakers from the audience expressed heartfelt disappointment and frustration about confusing parking permit requirements and recent overzealous towing at the Reserve at Renton Senior Living apartments.

The Reserve at Renton opened in 2015 at a site that had previously been in use for school bus parking, and was once the home of the Renton Food Circus (seven restaurants in one dining complex.)  The Reserve also includes two ground floor stores, and is located adjacent to the Feast Buffet banquet restaurant, in Renton’s Fred Meyer Shopping Center on Rainier Avenue.

When the Reserve at Renton opened, there appears to have been an assumption that the large retail lot would ensure adequate parking for everyone. Urban planners at the time were beginning to embrace the idea of getting greater density and parking efficiency through shared parking; the logic being that living units require the most parking in the evening, while retail requires the most parking during the day– so fewer spots are required when they are shared.

But retired residents don’t necessarily leave their homes during the day, and banquet halls can get very crowded, so parking shortages arose.  In response, the Reserve at Renton posted permit-only parking signs and issued limited parking permits.  Any resident or store customer vehicle not displaying the permits could get swiftly towed, apparently even residents or customers parking in ADA spots.  The residents of these apartments have limited income, and many speak English as a second language.  Several residents reported very challenging efforts to reclaim their cars in Kent, and towing bills ranging from $500-$900.  Some reported missing medical appointments from the disruption.

I hope they can get these parking challenges resolved soon, and I think some of the residents deserve refunds.

The situation also serves as a stark reminder that there is a limit to how much Renton can reduce parking and still maintain peace in our city.  It is not reasonable to assume every senior resident can safely walk to and from transit stops, and take 2-3 hour bus trips to get to their medical appointments; they need adequate parking, and so do their caregivers.

Here is a youtube video of last night’s public comment.  The testimony about this topic begins at 25:09.

Additional photos of the site, which include the recently added signage, can be seen by clicking below:

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